Trans Woman Ridiculed, Rejected by Hospital

BY Michelle Garcia

August 02 2010 2:00 PM ET

A transgender woman said staff at a Muncie, Ind., hospital mocked her and
denied her treatment after she came to the emergency room coughing up
blood.

Erin Vaught showed up at the Ball Memorial Hospital on July 18 with her wife and son, according to the Chicago Tribune. When she tried to submit her information for hospital records, two workers entered her gender as male, despite her identification being female. Vaught said she pointed out that her ID card identifies her as female, to which one worker snickered and the other made an annoyed face. When she was taken to the examination room, hospital staff referred to her as "he-she," "it," and a "transvestite."

Two hours passed before she saw a doctor, who then said he couldn't treat her because she is transgender.

"The irony here is that we spend so much time teaching about transgender issues at Ball State University," said Vivian Benge, president of the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance. "And yet there is Ball Memorial Hospital treading a transgender like this. It is so sad."

Ball Memorial spokesperson Will Henderson said hospital authorities are looking into the matter.